Tentacle-Free Anime: "Boruto: Naruto the Movie" (2015) Review

Oh, you thought we were done with Naruto? Ahahaha! Ahahaha! Sorry, sorry, no, no you're NEVER done with Naruto. It's a franchise that will never go away. And even when The Last: Naruto the Movie is advertised as being the final story, what they really mean is it's the final adventure with Naruto as the main character. There's one more movie to go folks, and I'm here to tell you all about it.

Summary:Boruto is the son of the 7th Hokage Naruto who completely rejects his father. Behind this, he has feelings of wanting to surpass Naruto, who is respected as a hero. He ends up meeting his father's friend Sasuke, and requests to become his apprentice. [AnimeNewsNetwork.com]

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Going into the new Boruto film, which focuses mostly on the next generation of Shinobi, I felt low expectations creeping in. I wasn't sure what to expect, really and honestly, after the horror show that was The Last: Naruto the Movie plus Kishimoto's lackluster storytelling in the last several years of the manga, yet another original Naruto tale told by him just wasn't high on my wishlist.

However, I do have enough love for this series left that I was interested to see what Kishimoto had in store for the kids of all of our favorite Shinobi. When I was alerted to news that one of my local theaters was playing the movie, I decided to take the risk and drop $14 on a ticket for a movie I wasn't sure I was even going to like. Thankfully, that risk paid off and though the ticket price was hella high, so was the quality of this movie. I'm not sure how Kishimoto pulled it off, but damn this movie is good.

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Boruto is a film about family, about responsibility, and about legacy. Boruto, Naruto's son, is a misfit slacker who has plenty of natural talent, but doesn't have the respect or discipline to harness it. A lot of this is due to his father's regular absence in his life. Naruto, as we all know, grew up without parents, both of them dying when he was born. Boruto on the other hand has a mother in his life, a sister, and his father who is alive but is the seventh Hokage and too busy to put any sort of focus on his family.

Therefore all Boruto gets is a lecture every now and then, or if he does get any praise for something he does it's through email or a shadow clone of his father. Very rarely does Naruto factor into his life on the regular.

​A lot of what makes this family element so powerful and how Kishimoto depicts it quite believably probably has a lot to do with his own personal life as a popular, weekly manga-ka who is married and also has kids of his own. Now, I don't know the details of Kishimoto's personal life, but I do know this man got married over 10 years ago and did not go on his honeymoon until after this series was finished. That is dedication on his family's part. And I can only imagine how many days went by where Kishimoto's son needed a father in his life and this man instead had a weekly comic that he had to get done and to the printer.

Again, I don't know the details, but any real life parents will tell you moments like those do arise no matter your profession. So, linking Kishimoto to the role of Hokage, and Boruto to his own kids is not too farfetched an idea and I truly believe this is what lends this movie such relatable power.

Like father like son, believe it!

​There is a moment in this movie where Naruto finally does come talk to his son about how well he's doing in the Chunin Exams, about how proud he is, but Boruto has to hide the fact that he's been cheating up until that point. The conversation is awkward and short, both parties unable to get out exactly what they want to say. Naruto fist bumps Boruto's chest and tells him he'll be watching in the final round. After he leaves, Boruto begins writhing in bed in happiness over the fact that his father was there, talking to him, and praising him. It's a very, very powerful moment for these two and I think Kishimoto captured it perfectly.

Which I find interesting as well, looking back on the possible real life ties between Kishimoto and his own family history. Before the film started there was a special interview with Kishimoto and the original Japanese voice actress of Naruto about their thoughts and feelings on the film. When asked if there was any particular scene he feels the audience should look out for when watching the movie, Kishimoto specifies that this scene is the one he wants everyone to pay extra special attention to. I think that says a lot about this man and what he himself went through to get to this point in his life, what he had to give up and also make right whenever he could.

Looking back on other elements of the movie, the villains this time around were far more interesting than many villains to date on Naruto. They wanted to destroy the world. Sure, every villain in this series wants that, but more so they were from the same species that Kaguya came from and even mentioned many little things that helped shape Kaguya a little more as a character rather than just a bland, emotionless zombie villain the we actually ended up with.

This did not make me feel any more emotional towards Kaguya, but getting these bits and pieces of information on how this world began past Kaguya coming to this planet really made things a little cooler in my eyes. It makes me want to see more of their species, who feed off the same seeds that grow chakra fruit, which eventually gave Earth's humans the power of chakra.

The many characters displayed in this movie were all great. I really enjoy Boruto's three-man team of himself, Sarada, and Mitsuki who's own family is shrouded in mystery throughout the entirety of the film. It's easy to figure out who they are though, if you pay extra close attention to the guy, but if you don't, just stick around for the end credits scene.

All our villains are made of white

​All the action scenes were great as well. Incredibly well choreographed and just as epic as I would prefer to expect from Naruto's high-flying super-powered ninjas. The best fight scene though, is definitely the final battle, seeing Naruto and Sasuke fuse their powers of the Nine-Tails and Susanoo to form a samurai demon fox against manifestations of many of the other tailed beasts was outstanding. If Kishimoto really does make this his final Naruto tale, he'll definitely go out a high note when it comes to the fighting; super-powered or otherwise.

One thing I didn't enjoy about the film, and this is mainly just something that was tacked onto the end of the film, was at the end when Sarada was questioning Boruto about whether or not he wants to become Hokage one day. Since that's her goal and all. Boruto makes a very conscious and wise decision not follow in his father's footsteps. He doesn't want to be Hokage, and that's great. It's what he does decide on that bothers me.

Throughout the film, Boruto convinces Sasuke to take him in as his student, to teach him the ropes, to show his dad what a badass he really is. Great. Sasuke does a great job at teaching the kid and actually acts like a better father figure to Boruto than Naruto does. Especially later, when Sasuke lays everything out for him about why things are messed up, because Boruto could never see the big picture. But overall, Sasuke is not a good father, and therefor is not someone you want to look up to in any way. He's got a cool factor, but he's not a great parent. There is a one volume manga sequel to Naruto that focuses solely on Sarada as she attempts to hunt down Sasuke and who she believes is her real mother.

We found out in this story that Sasuke has been gone out of Sarada's life for quite literally all her life, so when she finally meets him she has no idea who he even is. Sarada grew up half-way like Naruto actually did, and somewhat like Boruto did. But since this movie takes place after that story, Sasuke is around more and actively trying to be a dad to his daughter. He's still not great at it, but he's better.

Sasuka unveils his eyes

Boruto decides at the end of the film to become more like Sasuke. I'm sure it's something Kishimoto thought would be cool, because you have Sasuke's daughter wanting to more or less follow in Naruto's footsteps, so how about we have Boruto follow in Sasuke's? But when you look at the big picture, that means Boruto will – just like his father – never be around for his kids. And the circle of family torment will begin anew. That decision from Boruto feels really out of place, especially when, by the end, he's in awe of how powerful his father really is, he's in awe of who his father really is.

While The Last: Naruto the Movie felt like an extension of Kishimoto's performance as a writer in Naruto's Shippuuden era, Boruto: Naruto the Movie felt like a return to Kishimoto's performance as a writer in Naruto's pre-Shippuuden era. When all of the main cast were kids, everything was a bit more innocent and, while the personal dynamics were certainly adult, they were told in a way that a child and adult could relate to them. This was what that movie felt like to me: good Naruto. And I hope it remains the last we see of this franchise in terms of big time stories whether it be anime or manga or otherwise.

Let it be the last one Kishimoto. Go rest now, go be with your family. You ended on a real high note. That makes me happy to report, and you should be happy to know it.

Dattebayo!Believe it!

Final Score: 4.5 Genuine Family Relationships out of 5

Update: On December 19, 2015 it was announced that a new ongoing manga featuring Boruto as the lead would begin publishing in spring of 2016. Ukyo Kodachi will write this new series, and it will be illustrated by Mikio Ikemoto. Masashi Kishimoto, will remain on as supervisor.

All I can say is wonderful, with heavy sarcasm and a hint of an eye roll.

Have you checked out "Boruto: Naruto the Movie"? What did you think of this latest Naruto entry? Let us know below!